11/25/08 Weed Control

Weed Control. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. It always seems strange that the plants we want least in our fields or orchards tend to grow the best. We typically call them, weeds. Jamie Nielson with Valent USA says that many producers get good results with their products and for weeds especially. NIELSON: Our brands for the northwest geography, we've got some new and exciting opportunities. One is Chateau. Many of your producers have probably already used Chateau on some of their crops so some of those tough weeds that growers have been dealt with, especially broadleaf's which is Chateau's strength can be controlled now with Chateau. Orchardists have been using Chateau to help control broadleaf weeds in their apple orchards for some time and Nielson talks about how you should be using it. NIELSON: The label will read to after last cutting, go ahead and put your Chateau out. It give a residual control that you are looking for to keep it clean as we go into the spring market. According to Nielson, Chateau is now acceptable for use on alfalfa so this one product has a very good profile for taking care of weeds in a number of crops. Other products from Valent you might want to consider would be Clutch Insecticide, Esteem, Maxcel and Retain. As always you should talk with your Valent dealer about what products are right for your operation. Read and follow the label directions for excellent results. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.